Plane flying North-South over Brentford at 10pm...
 

Hi,
I live on Enfield Road in Brentford TW8 (look it up on www.streetmap.co.uk) At about 10pm tonight an airline flew at a pretty low level (ie lower than it would be on the normal flightpath) right over my house, North/South down the road. No idea of carrier as it's dark... what was going on????? They are usually on final descent near us, flying East-West (or just taken off Weat/East) Please enlighten me - was it a lost pilot?!
applelisa

I don't know, but I heard there was a broken seat adjustment lever on a Cessna in Coventry so it may be related...

Ho ho ho.
I wanted to build on the information of others who may have known more, not get a <not> clever response...
I'm not a journo, not a sensationalist, but in 10 years of living at the same place I've never seen any airline at low level (note I didn't say "AT 500 FEET" because I have no idea how to judge a height!) - Heathrow planes *always*, IMHO follow the same path at this stage - I was concerned that I was about to hear a big bang (which thankfully hasn't happened)
applelisa

someone mentioned it here i think its the same place

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/show...08#post2567608

It must have been this one: http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/3986/747ssp0jm.jpg

Definitely smaller than 747, tho couldn't quote exact model, and it wasn't 'bright sunlight', so not the same incident - any other sensible replies?! (Please? It *was* a bit weird!)

Was it a jet or a prop?

There has been one of FRA Aviations Dornier flying around Londin today on whatever they do

Fried Chicken

767
 

yes i saw it to over chiswick looked like a 767 to me very low :confused:

Fried_Chicken - def a pssenger jet - big-ish, not 747, but can't be sure of model...

<<Please enlighten me - was it a lost pilot?!>>

Applelisa... Big aeroplanes don't get lost! Everything going on round that area is under radar control anyway. You're only just over 5 miles from the runways so aircraft would be quite low over your place under normal procedures.

At that time at night traffic may be dropping off and it was good weather so the pilot may have opted to do a "visual approach" from some distance out. This might mean that he would not be on the usual final approack path and possibly lower than usual - ideally at your location he'd like to be around 1500 feet.

I doubt that it was anything really unusual.

OK thanks Heathrow Director - I'd just never seen a plane on anything like that flightpath - there were still plenty of planes on the 'normal' flightpath...
Surely a nightmare for ATC when a pilot opts to do that?!
applelisa

Applelisa... The pilot would receive ATC approval to follow that procedure so there would be no problem.

Probably a flight taken off his approach. Maybe too close to the guy in front.
Or maybe he was hoping to get a glance of the mighty Brentford FC!

Visual approaches used to be very a very regular thing in days gone by. I seem to remember many curved approaches from the north to 2 mile final (well inside the outer marker - St. Mary's fields Osterley) on 28R (27R) were a regular occurance, especially in the early evening, with British Midland seemingly specialising in them. They used to come very low over the house in Heston right wing down. Always impressive. Then there were the visual runway switches inside the markers - bloody impressive to watch, especially when it was a BA Tristar (showing my age) or bigger.

And way back in the days when men were men... a colleague of mine bet a pilot that he couldn't land without receiving the middle marker. The Viscount came screaming down the M4 spur, did a hard wing-over and landed on 28R. My buddy had to go off and pay the pilot his winnings....